Monuments to the colonial war in Portugal: A 60-year portrait

Abstract

In Portugal, the construction of monuments in memory of the colonial war began shortly after the conflict broke out and continues to the present day. The process constitutes a memorialist record promoted primarily by communities of former combatants and veterans' associations, with the assistance of local councils. Through a diachronic analysis of its evolution, which spans 60 years and includes around 450 monuments up to the end of 2022, this study reflects on how changes to the public war memory intersect with the dynamics and modes of monumentalisation. It also examines how recently built monuments recover messages and visual narratives associated with the Portuguese imperial past, while suppressing the colonial nature of the conflict. This chapter highlights the ongoing task of recontextualisation which depoliticises the war, omits the violence it generated and sacralises the figure of the Portuguese combatant. Finally, it reflects on the agency of the organisers/recipients of this memorialisation process, arguing that in the face of the tensions and disputes which this historical event continually raises in contemporary Portuguese society, they have found a way to commemorate the soldiers' efforts and public service and set the tone and content for their (own) public recognition.